LIBRARY 

OK  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIKT  OK 


Class 


An 


Old  Indian  Village 


BY 


JOHAN  AUGUST  UDDEN. 


OF  TM£ 

,    UNIVERSITY 
1  \ 


ROCK  ISLAND,   ILL. 

LUTHERAN   AUGUSTANA   BOOK    CONCERN,    PRINTERS. 
1900. 


A  piece   from  a  chain  mail,  found  on  the  old  village 
site  on  Paint  creek,  McPherson  county,  Kansas.^ 


An 


Old  Indian  Village. 


BY 


JOHAN  AUGUST  UDDEN 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


ROCK   ISLAND,    ILL. 

LUTHERAN    AUGUSTAXA    BOOK    CONCERN,    PRINTERS. 
1900. 


e 


CONTENTS. 


.  Page. 

Fron  t  ispiece 2 

Contents 5 

Author's  note ~ 

INTRODUCTORY 9 

THE  PAINT  CREEK  DWELLING  SITES 

STRUCTURE  OF  THE  MOUNDS 14 

ANIMAL  BONES '6 

ARTICLES  MADE  FROM  HONE  AND  SHELI •  '~ 

Hoes 

Gouges 1~ 

Notched  bone 1~ 

Flakers 1* 

Hairpins? .-. 19 

Beads 19 

Spoons  of  shell 19 

POTTERY 23 

Forms  and  kinds  of  vessels 23 

Methods  of  fastening  the  handles  27 

Ornamentation 28 

ARTICLES  MADE  OF  CHERT 31 

Scrapers 31 

Irregular  forms  of  scrapers 34 

Flint  knives 39 

Arrowpoiuts 40 

Spearheads 41 

Awls 46 

Drills 47 

Leaf-flints  and  tomahawks 47 

Hand  hammers 49 

ARTICLES  MADE  FROM  SANDSTONE 50 

Grindstones 50 

Arrow-sinootheners 53 

Cupped  stones 56 

CATLINITE  PIPES 57 

ARTICLES  MADE  FROM  VARIOUS  MATERIALS 59 

Stone  mallets 59 

Thro  wing-stones? 64 

A  problematic  relic 65 

A  PIECE  OF  AN  OLD  ARMOR 66 

PROHAHLE  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  TRIHE 68 

INVENTORY  OF  THE  VILLAGE  RELICS 6!) 

ETHNIC  RELATIONSHIP 71 

A  VISIT  FROM  THE  SPANIARDS? 73 

INDEX...  ..  T9 


15858? 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE. 

tin  (he  fall  of  1881,  ichile  engaged  as  instructor  in  Bethany  Academy, 
now  Bethany  College,  at  Lind*borg,  Kama*,  one  of  my  scholars  called 
my  attention  to  some  mounds  south  of  the  Smoky  Hill  river,  where  i-ariou*  an- 
tiquitie*  had  been  picked  up  by  the  settlers.  I  visited  the  locality  and  sair 
that  it  gave  promise  of  interesting  finds  of  aboriginal  relics.  Here  was  some 
thing  worth  taking  care  of.  During  the  subsequent  seren  year*  I  frequently 
went  to  the  place,  sometimes  in  company  icith  fellow  teachers  and  with  xfudents. 
The  contents  and  the  structure  of  the  mounds  were  noted  and  their  locations 
were  marked  on  a  small  plat  of  the  land.  In  course  of  time  a  collection  of 
relics  accumulated.  This  is  yet  intact  in  the  posses-ion  of  the  institution  in 
whose  service  /«•«-*  then  employed,  and  additions  are  still  being  made  by  my 
successor  Professor  J.  E.  Wei  in. 

At  the  Emporia  meeting  of  the  Kansas  Academy  of  Science  in  1886  I  made 
a  brief  report  of  my  observations  on  thc*c  antiquities  But  it  wa*  impractic 
able  at  that  time  to  present  the  detail*.  It  seems  that  these  mounds  and  their 
relics  are  of  more  than  passing  interest  and  in  a  way  are  representative  of  the 
archeology  of  the  state.  Before  I  parted  with  the  material  which  had  been 
secured  up  to  1889,  I  concluded  to  write  an  account  of  the  collections  then  on 
hand.  This  account  has  served  as  a  basis  for  the  present  paper. 

In  preparing  the  following  pages  I  have  deliberately  had  two  objects  in  rieiv. 
I  have  sought  to  present  some  brief  and  correct  descriptions  of  a  collection 
strictly  limited  to  one  single  locality.  This  is  done  in  the  hope  that  the  descrip 
tions  together  with  the  photographic  reproductions  presented  in  the  figures  and 
plates  may  prove  serviceable  to  science.  The  author  is,  hmcever,  no  archaeol 
ogist.  This  ic ill  be  his  last  as  well  as  his  first  paper  bearing  on  topics  of  this 
kind,  unkss,  perchance,  he  should  again  find  his  residence  in  the.  front  yard 
of  some  prehistoric  domicile.  I  have  also  sought  to  write  these  few  pages  in 
such  a  way  that  they  may  prove  profitable  reading  to  such  of  the  general  public 
o-s  are  interested  in  the  study  of  Indian  relics.  It  is  believed  that  the  material 
lends  itself  to  such  a  double  purpose. 


8  AUTHOR'S  NOTK. 

The,  average  American  li«*  <i  xeientlfie  instinct,  which  he  i*  fond  of  cultivat 
ing  wherever  he  lie.  Hf any  fanners,  merchants,  and  professional  men  in  the 
Wext  arc  making  xm.<dl  collections  of  Indian  relics.  Should  this  paper  come 
into  (he  hand*  of  collectors  or  students  of  this  class,  I  hope  that  it  may  whet 
their  appetite  for  more,  and  better  literature  of  the  same  kind.  I  nl*o  hope  that 
if  inai/  aid  and  eneoitrage  than,  in  their  efforts  to  study  nnd  to  fake  eare  of  the 
a  nt  ion  it  ie*  found  in  their  own  immediate  vicinity.  T<>  do  thi*  /*  at  the  *ame 
(hut'  their  particular  privilege  an.d  their  special  duty  to  the  r<i/i*e  of  *<-ienee. 

To  former  pupil*,  fellow  teachers,  and  other*  who  aided  in  making  tJie  e.r- 
plorations  mi  Paint  creek  I  extend  mi/  thanks  <nnl  nn/  greetings  <>t  most  pleas 
ant  recollections.  In  particular  I  keep  ///  grateful  remembrance  the  kindly  in 
terest,  aid,  and  ra!  liable,  adri^e  always  freely  bestowed  by  the,  venerable  pioneer 
and  scientist  Dr.  John  Rundstrom,  formerly  of  AfcPherson  county,  Kanxa*. 
F,>r  *pe.e.i«l  aid  in  preparing  the  paper  I  am  under 'obligations  to  Dr.  ('.  .1. 
Swcinson,  president  of  Bethany  College,  to  Professor  Frank  Xelxon,  Superin 
tendent  of  Public  Instruction  of  t/ic  State  of  Kansas,  and  to  Professor  J.  K. 
WeUn  of  Bethany  College. 

The  photographs  for  the  illustrations  were,  with  ons  exception,  made  by  Mr. 
11.  (r.  Grondahl  of  Lindsborg,  Kan*a*,  and  figure*  6  and  27  were  drawn  by 
Profe*9or  Olof  Grafstrom  of  Hoek  Inland,  III. 

J.  A.  U. 

Angmtana  College,  May  7--.Y,  1900. 


(    UNIVERSITY 

OF 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  monuments  left  by  prehistoric  races  in  the  United 
States  are  much  more  numerous  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  Mississippi  valley  than  over  the  Western  Plains. 
This  is  plainly  shown  on  a  map  -issued  some  years  ago 
by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  and  prepared  to  exhibit 
the  geographical  distribution  of  prehistoric  works  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  *  From  the  Mississippi  river 
and  eastward,  the  localities  of  mounds  and  other  pre 
historic  works  appear  numerous  and  crowded,  while  west 
ward  from  the  great  river  they  are  few  and  scattered. 
Evidently  in  prehistoric  times  as  at  present  the  more 
fertile  and  more  richly  watered  eastern  plains  afforded 
a  more  congenial  environment  to  the  inhabitants  than 
the  less  favored  western  country.  In  another  respect, 
also,  the  monuments  of  early  man  in  America  bear  wit 
ness  to  a  comparatively  small  population  in  prehistoric 
times  westward  from  the  great  river.  On  the  Western 
Plains  we  find  none  of  those  magnificent  earthen  struc 
tures,  that  were  erected  by  the  prehistoric  people  of  the 
Ohio  valley  and  by  those  who  dwelled  near  the  Missis 
sippi.  The  conditions  of  existence  in  the  west  evidently 
did  not  result  in  the  development  of  such  powerful  com 
munities  as  could  spare  the  energy  needed  for  the  con 
struction  of  great  mounds. 

*  Catalogue  of  Prehistoric  Works  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  Cyrus 
Thomas,  Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1891. 


10  INTRODUCTORY. 

But  the  greater  observed  frequency  of  antiquities 
east  of  the  Mississippi  river  is  to  some  extent  due  to 
a  less  complete  knowledge  of  the  western  territory. 
A  number  of  explorers  have  been  at  work  in  the  eastern 
territory  for  more  than  three  quarters  of  a  century, 
while  comparatively  few  have  paid  tiny  attention  to 
archaeological  explorations  on  the  west  slope  of  the 
great  central  valley,  and  this  for  only  the  last  few  dec 
ades.  This  region  has  only  tardily  received  the  atten 
tion  it  deserves.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  future 
work  will  bring  to  light  many  more  localities  in  the 
west  where  prehistoric  man  has  left  traces  of  his  exis 
tence.  Some  recently  made  discoveries  give  decided 
promise  that  this  will  be  the  case.  In  the  last  few 
years  Mr.  .1.  V.  Brower  has  located  some  sixty  hitherto 
unknown  sites  of  aboriginal  villages  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  state  of  Kansas,*  and  others  have  re 
ported  similar  localities  from  the  region  north  of  this 
state. 

From  such  explorations  in  Kansas  as  are  known  to 
the  author  of  this  paper,  it  appears  that  the  antiqui 
ties  in  this  state  are  associated  with  two  distinct  types 
of  mounds:  burial  mounds  and  elevated  dwelling  sites. 
Many  of  the  latter,  perhaps  the  greater  number,  are 
no  mounds  at  all  but  merely  the  flat  surface  of  the 
ground  where  the  dwellings  of  nil  earlier  race  have  once 
been  standing.  These  would  never  be  noticed,  were  it 
not  for  the  relics  of  household  art,  chase,  and  warfare 
scattered  about  the  place.  But  frequently  there  occur 

*  Memoirs  of  Explorations  in  the  Basin  of  the  Mississippi,  Vol.  II,  Harahcv, 
by  J.  V.  Brower,  p.  V.,  St.  Paul,  181)9. 


INTRODUCTORY.  1 1 

together  with  these  relics  heaps  of  earth  a  foot  or  two 
high  and  perhaps  a  rod  wide.  These  village  sites,  as 
they  have  been  called,  do  not  occupy  any  conspicuously 
high  places,  but  usually  lie  on  or  near  some  flat  and 
fertile  lowlands  as  on  the  border  of  an  alluvial  plain. 
The  burial  mounds  are  different.  They  are  higher  and 
somewhat  less  flat  on  top.  Frequently  there  is  a  pile 
or  a  layer  of  rocks  within  them,  and  under  this,  some 
human  remains.  They  are  usually  built  on  high  bluffs 
or  on  upland  hills  overlooking  some  extensive  lowlands. 
Thev  can  almost  alwavs  be  found  on  bluffs  near  the 

«, 

junction  of  larger  streams  and  their  size  is  somewhat 
proportionate  to  that  of  the  confluent  waters.  Mounds 
of  this  kind  have  been  reported  from  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Kansas.*  near  the  junction  of  the  Big  Blue  and  the 
Kansas,  and  near  the  junction  of  the  Republican  and 
the  Smoky  Hill.*  The  author  has  seen  some  along 
the  Smoky  Hill  river  west  of  the  latter  locality  and  on 
several  of  the  high  buttes  in  Saline  and  McPherson 
counties,  and  he  has  opened  two  in  the  latter  county. 
One  of  these  is  on  the  summit  of  the  highest  butte  of 
the  Smoky  Hills  and  the  other  is  west  of  Gypsum  creek 
near  the  northeast  corner  of  McPherson  county.  Both 
mounds  were  partly  built  of  rocks,  under  which  there 
were  charred  human  bones  and  some  roughly  chipped 
flints.  In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  of  the 
antiquities  of  Kansas  we  are  hardly  justified  in  making 
any  conjectures  as  to  whether  these  two  types  of  mounds 

*  Traces  of  the  Aborigines  in  Riley  County.  Prof.  (J.  H.  Failyer.  Trans,  of 
the  Kansas  Acad.  of  Sei.,  1879—1880,  p.  132. 

**  Kansas  Mounds,  F.  G.  Adams.  Trans,  of  the  Kansas  Acad.  of  Sci.,  1877 
—1878,  p.  51. 


TIIK    PAINT    ('KEEK    MOITNI)S. 


are  the  products  of  two  different  people  or  whether  they 
have  been  made  by  the  same  race  for  different  purposes. 
In  either  case  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  burial 
mounds  served  some  purpose  in  connection  with  some 
mortuary  or  religious  customs,  or  possibly  military 
practices,  among  entire  tribes  or  nations,  while  the  dwel 
ling  sites  merely  mark  the  place  of  the  abode  of  some 
household  or  clan,  occupied  in  ordinary  and  peaceful 
every  day  pursuits. 


THE  PAINT  CREEK   DWELLING  SITES.* 

On  the  west  bank  of  Paint  creek  about  a.  mile  and 
a  half  south  of  the  Smoky  Hill  river  in  McPherson 
county  there  is  a  group  of  some  fifteen  low  mounds 
which  must  be  classified  as  dwelling  sites  in  an  aborig 
inal  village.  They  are  scattered  over  the  southeast 
quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  twelve  in 
township  eighteen  south  and  range  four  west  of  the 
sixth  principal  meridian.  For  the  most  part  the  group 
occupies  a  gentle  slope  to  the  southeast  and  east, 
which  extends  from  the  left  bank  of  the  creek.  The 
mounds  do  not  seem  to  be  arranged  in  any  particular 
order,  but  the  distance  separating  them  is,  in  most 
cases,  about  125  feet,  or  a  multiple  of  this  distance. 
(Fig.  1  ).  This  left  a.  convenient  space  beeween  the  dwel 
lings.  A  line  running  through  the  outer  members  of 


*  These  are  the  pame  mounds  that  Mr.  J.  V.  Brower  lias  called  the  Udden 
Village  Site  in  his  Quivira,  Vol.  I,  Memoirs  of  Explorations  in  the  Basin  of  the 
Mississippi,  p.  55.  It  in  from  no  disregard  for  the  distinguished  explorer  that  the 
present  author  prefers  to  here  retain  the  designation  above  used. 


THE    PAIXT    CREEK    MOUNDS 

O 


13 


O 
O  / 

o/o 

O 


O     / 

/  O 


FIG.  1.  Plat  of  the  mounds  on  the  old  village  site  on  Paint  creek  in  McPherson  county.  Kansas. 
The  plat  covers  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  twelve,  township  eighteen 
south,  range  four  west  of  the  sixth  principal  meridian.  The  dotted  lines  are  contour  lines,  with 

ten  feet  intervals. 

the  group  would  inclose  an  area  of  about  twent%T  acres. 
The  site  may  have  been  chosen  with  regard  to  con 
venient  access  to  water  and  fuel.  There  are  some  good 
springs  in  the  creek  a  short  distance  to  the  south  and 
there  is  some  small  timber  along  its  banks.  In  other 
respects  the  choice  seems  to  have  been  equally  fortunate. 
To  the  south  and  west  there  is  a  gravel  containing 
boulders  of  chert,  from  which  darts  and  scrapers  could 
be  made.  The  southeast  slope  of  the  ground  would  tend 
to  modify  the  severity  of  the  northwest  winds  in  win- 

«-  t. 

ter.  Fishing  was  profitable  in  the  Smoky  Hill  river 
near  by  to  the  north.  The  surrounding  hilly  slope  of 
the  upland  and  the  river  bottoms  to  the  north  afforded 
a  variety  of  game  at  all  seasons.  It  was  an  ideal  vil 
lage  site  for  a  savage  tribe. 


14  ST1UTCTITRE    OF    THE    MOt'XDS. 


STRUCTURE   OF  THE  MOUNDS. 

Each  mound  is  circular  in  form  and  has  a  diameter 
of  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet.  None  are  more  than 
three  feet  high.  The  average  height  is  somewhat  less 
than  two  feet,  and  some  rise  only  slightly  above  the 
ground.  The  material  of  which  these  mounds  are  com 
posed  is  principally  loose  soil  or  mud,  which  is  heaped 
up  on  the  surface  of  the  prairie.  On  digging  down  the 
material  was  found  to  be  soft  until  the  original  prairie 
level  was  reached,  when  the  ground  beca.me  hard.  Below 
this  it  had  apparently  never  been  disturbed.  Through 
the  upper  loose  soil  there  were  all  sorts  of  relics,  mostly 
broken.  There  were  also  broken  bones  of  animals, 
pieces  of  pottery,  here  and  there  bits  of  charcoal,  pock 
ets  of  ashes,  flint  chips,  various  kinds  of  arrow-points, 
scrapers,  and  knives  of  flint.  Occasionally  small  blocks 
of  sandstone  or  limestone  were  met  with,  which  had 
been  subjected  to  the  action  of  fire.  It  was  not  possible 
to  detect  any  order  in  the  arrangement  of  the  contents 
of  the  mounds  and  there  were  no  buried  human  remains. 
Just  how  the  mounds  were  built  seems  uncertain.  The 
mud  perhaps  accumulated  inside  the  dwellings  during 
a  repeated  residence  of  the  natives,  which  occurred  at 
some  certain  season  of  the  year.  All  -the  materials 
found  imbedded,  were  such  household  goods  as  may  be 
supposed  to  have  become  useless  to  the  inhabitants,  or 
such  as  may  from  time  to  time  have  been  lost.  Most 
of  them  were  broken.  The  pockets  of  ashes  occasionally 
found  may  mark  the  site  of  the  places  where  fires  were 


ANIMAL    BONKS. 


15 


\ 


FK;.  2.    II oo.  made  from  a  shoulder  blade  of  the  bison. 
Reduced  about  V 


Hi  ANIMAL    BOXES. 

made.  Possibly  the  ground  was  built  up  for  the  pur 
pose  of  keeping  the  run-off  away  during  rains.  If  such 
was  the  case,  additions  must  have  been  made  from  time 
to  time,  for  discarded  household  articles  are  found  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  heaps  as  well  as  in  the  upper. 
Evidently  the  mounds  were  not  completed  all  at  once. 
The  bones  found  in  the  upper  part  are  not  as  far  ad 
vanced  in  decay  as  those  found  near  the  bottom.  In 
deed  it  seems  possible  that  the  mounds  may  have  been 
built  up  from  wind-blown  dirt  and  sand  settling  in 
dwellings  which  were  left  vacant  during  some  season 
by  a  nomadic  tribe  which  occupied  them  during  only  a 
part  of  the  year. 


ANIMAL   BONES. 

The  abundant  presence  of  animal  bones  testifies  that 
the  people  who  lived  here  secured  a,  great  part  of  their 
sustenance  by  hunting.  The  meat  of  the  bison  must 
have  been  their  staple  food.  The  long  bones  of  this 
animal  have  almost  always  been  broken.  Evidently  the 
marrow  was  eaten.  Considering  the  great  number  of 
these  long  bones  there  was  a  noticeable  scarcity  of  skulls, 
ribs,  and  vertebras.  This  circumstance  may  be  taken 
to  indicate  that  the  hunters  were  in  the  habit  of  leaving 
in  the  field  such  parts  of  the  bison  as  did  not  furnish 
the  most  suitable  food.  Bones  of  the  antelope,  the  wolf, 
the  wild-cat,  the  skunk,  and  the  wild  turkey  were  also 
observed,  as  well  as  the  vertebras  of  various  fishes,  and 
the  valves  of  common  river  clams. 


ARTICLES   MADE   FROM    BONE   AND   SHELL. 


17 


ARTICLES   MADE   FROM    BONE  AND   SHELL. 

Bones  were  manufactured  into  various  kinds  of  imple 
ments.  The  shoulder  blade 
of  the  bison  is  frequently 
found  beveled  on  the  verte 
bral  border  in  such  a  way 
as  to  suggest  that  it  has 
been  used  as  a  spade  or  as 
a  hoe  (Fig.  2).  From  the 
fragments  of  the  long  bones 
gouge-shaped  tools  were  pre 
pared  by  beveling  one  end 
on  the  concave  side  (Fig. 
3).  About  a  dozen  of  these 
gouges  were  found,  two  of 
them  entire,  the  others  being 
more  or  less  fragmentary. 
It  seems  probable  that  such 
tools  may  have  been  useful 
in  the  preparation  of  hides, 
or  for  digging  in  the  ground. 
One  piece  of  a  bone,  about 
eight  inches  in  length,  evi 
dently  a  part  of  a  rib  of  a 
bison,  was  marked  by  a  num 
ber  of  transverse  grooves. 
This  may  have  been  some 
sort  of  a  record  or  calendar 
4) .  Three  specimens 


FlG'  3' 


tool  made  from  a  long 


bone  of  the  bison.     Reduced  about  %, 


18 


ARTICLES   MADE   FROM    BONE   AND   SHELL. 


of  clavicles  of  some  animal  were 
cut  off  at  both  ends  and  smooth- 
ened  and  polished  as  from  wear. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  these 
may  have  been  used  as  hair-pins 
(Fig.  5).  One  specimen  of  the  lower 
jaw  of  a  bison  had  the  teeth  worn 
down  straight  and  smooth  to 
about  half  their  length,  as  if  rubbed 
against  a  concave  object.  The 
lower  end  of  a  tarsal  bone  of  a 
prong-horn  antelope  was  detached 
by  a  circular  groove  running 
around  the  entire  bone.  There  were 
three  tools  of  bone  shaped  with 
one  smooth  and  rounded  end,  very 
much  like  the  handle  of  a  tooth 
brush  and  marked  by  irregular 
transverse  cuts  near  the  other  end 
(Fig.  5).  These  were  perhaps  used 
as  flakers  in  shaping  flint  tools, 
for  they  can  still  be  applied  so  as 
to  detach  small  flakes  from  flint 
chips.  This  is  described  by  some 
ethnologists  as  being  done  by  hold 
ing  the  flaker  firmly  in  one  hand 
and  pressing  it  against  the  flint, 
which  is  placed  between  the  bone 
and  the  thumb  and  held  in  the 
other  hand  (Fig.  6).  In  his  paper 
.  4.  Notched  record  on  a  rib  of  on  Arrowpoints,  Spearheads,  and 

thu  bison.    Slightly  reduced, 


ARTICLES   MADE   FROM   BONE   AND   SHELL. 


19 


FIG.   6. 


Method  of  chipping  flint 
with  a  bone  tool. 


Knives  of  Prehistoric  Times  Dr. 
Thomas  Wilson  has  mentioned 
some  similar  objects,  which  are 
believed  to  have  been  used  in  this 
way.  He  says  they  are  usually 
made  of  deer  horn  and  are  -'short 
and  round  with  a  point  like  one's 

little  finger".  It  is  difficult  to  see  for  what  other  pur 
pose  such  bones  could 

serve. 

A  few    long   beads, 

made  from    bones  of 

birds,  were  picked  up 

(Fig.  5),  as  were  also 

some  bear's  teeth. 
Two  large  unio  shells 

were  found,  which  had 

been  ground  round  on 

the    edges    and    care 
fully    polished    so    as 

to    resemble    spoons. 

These    were  in  a    far 

State    OI    de-      FlG    5   Figure  to  th%  left:  hairpin?  made  of  bone.  Middle 
_.     f    -,  .  figure :  bead  made,  from  the  bone  of  a  bird.    Figure  to  the 

and    tell    tO    pieCeS      right:  Flintflaker?  made  from  bone.  All  slightly  reduced. 

before  they  could  be  properly  cared  for.  It  may  be  of 
interest  to  note  that  these  shells,  as  near  as  the 
author  could  ascertain,  belonged  to  a  species  which  in 
habits  the  water  of  the  Smoky  Hill  river. 


I 


20 


POTTERY. 


I  ' 

c  -a 


~ 
< 
I 
fh 

0 

x. 

z 

- 
< 
* 

< 

HZ 

X 


2   E-  3 

*  „•  2 


j=   a 

* 


— 


POTTERY.  23 


POTTERY. 

All  through  the  material  of  the  mounds  there  was  a 
great  number  of  broken  pieces  of  earthenware,  several 
hundreds  of  which  were  gathered  up.  This  earthenware 
is  made  from  a  clay  which  is  mixed  with  sand,  ground 
shells,  or  bone.  It  does  not  show  any  great  skill  on 
part  of  the  workmen.  Most  of  the  vessels  have  been 
made  with  little  care.  This  can  be  seen  in  the  varia 
tions  in  the  thickness  of  the  broken  pieces  and  in  their 
uneven  edges  wherever  these  follow  the  upper  rim  of 
the  vessels.  Finger  marks  are  often  to  be  found  on  the 
surface  of  the  sherds.  The  inferior  quality  of  the  work 
manship  is  also  evident  in  the  method  of  attachment 
of  the  handles  and  in  occasional  rude  attempts  in  de 
coration.  The  burning  also  seems  uneven  and  imperfect. 
Only  one  vessel  was  found  in  nearly  entire  condition, 
and  the  workmanship  of  this  was  greatly  superior  to 
that  of  the  rest. 

Forms  and  Kinds  of  Vessels.  It  is  not  possible  in 
every  instance  to  make  conjectures  as  to  the  real  shape 
of  the  vessels  that  are  thus  found  only  in  broken  frag 
ments.  Some  are  large  enough  to  indicate  the  general 


FIG.  7.    Yarions  forms  of  earthenware. 
1)  Large  jar.    2)  Smaller  jar.    3)  Bowl.    4)  Cup. 


24 


POTTERY. 


5     -O 
f*<    S  _  "-  j< 


c 


.  *  u  * 

-     s   s   c 

£    S  -a   S 


"3   S 

£  S 


•=  5 


- 

g 
< 

X. 


§  5   i 
•=   >   c 


•<    a 


- 


I 


POTTERY.  27 

form.  The  greater  number  appear  to  have  been  large 
jars,  about  a  foot  in  diameter  and  from  eight  to  ten 
inches  in  height,  with  an  opening  more  narrow  than  the 
widest  part  (Fig.  7,  nos.  1  and  2).  The  upper  rim  was 
either  vertical  or  more  or  less  abruptly  flaring.  One 
fragment  indicated  a  form  quite  similar  to  that  of  the 
modern  tea-cup  (Fig.  7,  no.  4).  Another  must  have 
been  a  part  of  a  wide  elliptical  bowl  (Fig.  7,  no.  3). 

Methods  of  Fastening  the  Handles.  Handles  were 
attached  to  the  rim  of  all  large  pots.  There  were  two 
methods  in  use  for  fastening  these  to  the  vessel.  One 
was  that  of  perforating  the  sides  of  the  vessel  and  in 
serting  the  ends  of  the  handle  into  the  perforation  and 
then  bracing  it  by  placing  a  ring  of  clay  around  the 
inserted  ends  (Plate  II,  figs.  4,  5,  and  7).  The  other 
method  consisted  in  merely  plastering  the  ends  of  the 
handle  to  the  outer  side  of  the  vessel  (Plate  II,  fig.  3). 
In  some  cases  the  two  methods  were  combined  and  the 
upper  end  of  the  handle  was  stuck  on  the  rim,  while 
the  lower  end  was  inserted  into  a  perforation  (Plate 
I,  figs.  1  and  2).  When  the  handles  are  stuck  on,  there 
is  also  often  a  bracing  ring  applied  to  make  the  joint 
stronger.  The  first  method  was  used  in  larger  vessels 
as  a  rule,  and  the  latter  method  was  more  common  in 
the  case  of  the  smaller  ones.  In  many  cases  when  the 
handle  is  stuck  on,  it  is  too  small  for  the  insertion  of  a 
finger  and  may  have  been  used  for  the  purpose  of  sus 
pending  the  vessels  by  means  of  a  thong  or  string. 
Near  the  place  of  attachment  of  the  two  ends  of  the 
handle,  there  is  often  a  protruding  knob,  which  may  be 
absent,  however,  either  above  or  below  (Plate  I,  fig. 


28 


POTTERY. 


6,  Plate  II,  figs.  3,  4,  6).  All  of  the  handles  observed, 
with  one  exception,  were  placed  vertically.  In  the  case 
of  the  exception  it  extended  laterally  in  a  horizontal 
plane,  about  one  inch  and  a  half  below  the  upper  rim 
of  the  vessel. 

Ornamentation.  The  style  of  ornamentation  occa 
sionally  seen  on  the  common  pottery  is  particularly 
crude  and  consists  mostly  in  the  placing  of  linear  and 

dotted  indentations  on  the 
handles,  or  ears,  and  on  the 
upper  rim  of  the  vessels.  (Plate 
II).  These  indentations  are 
arranged  in  the  simplest  kind 
of  patterns,  such  as  single, 
double,  or  triple  lines.  No  at 
tempts  to  represent  animate 
objects  have  been  observed  on 
any  specimens.  The  convex 
surface  of  a  few  sherds  is 
painted  red.  On  many  pieces 
there  were  some  shallow  indentations  suggesting  partly 
obliterated  impressions  of  some  coarse  plaited  fabric 
(Fig.  8),  which  indicates  that  the  vessels  were  moulded 
in  some  sort  of  plaited  form.  This  is  known  to  have 
been  a  common  method  of  moulding  clay  among  the 
Indians.  On  the  sherd  from  the  bottom  of  one  vessel 
there  was  a  circular  raised  ring  (Fig.  9).  This  seems 
to  be  too  small  for  increasing  the  stability  of  the  vessel 
on  the  ground  and  was  perhaps  rather  intended  to 
secure  its  equilibrium  when  placed  on  the  head,  where 
Indian  water  carriers  are  in  the  habit  of  supporting 


Fio.  8.       A    potsherd    with    partially 

obliterated  indentation*  of  some  plaited 

fabric.  The  impressions  are  on  the  outer 

(convex)  surface.     Slightly  reduced. 


POTTERY. 


29 


FIG.  9.    A  potsherd  with  an  elevated  ring,  forming  the  base  of  the  vessel. 
Slightly  reduced. 

them.  In  one  of  the'mounds  there  was  found,  standing 
in  an  upright  position,  a  broken  fine  vessel  of  large 
size,  not  far  from  fourteen  inches  in  diameter  and  about 
a  foot  high  (Fig.  10).  The  sides  of  this  vessel  were 
quite  thin,  only  little  exceeding  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in 
thickness.  The  upper  outer  surface  was  decorated  by 
straight  parallel  lines  forming  Y-shaped  patterns.  Be 
low  the  widest  part  of  the  vessel  the  outside  was 
smooth.  A  number  of  ears  adorned  the  outside  of  its 
upper  rim.  Parts  of  the  upper  rim  as  well  as  of  the 
bottom  were  wanting. 


30 


POTTERY. 


In  its  imperfection  of  manufacture  and  in  its  crude 
ornamentation  the  pottery  gathered  from  the  mounds 
is  related  to  that  of  the  aboriginal  people  in  the  north 
ern  Mississippi  valley.*  From  the  tempering  it  appears 


FIG.  10.    A  piece  of  a  broken  ornamented  vessel. 
Slightly  reduced. 

that  the  potters  were  familiar  with  the  use  of  ground 
shells,  which  is  found  in  the  southern  pottery,  as  well 
as  with  the  use  of  sand,  which  was  commonly  mixed 
with  the  clay  for  the  same  purpose  among  the  prehis 
toric  people  in  the  north.* 

*  See  Ancient  Pottery  etc.,   Holmes,  Kept.  Bur.  of  Ethn.,  Smithsonian  Insti 
tution,  Wash.,  D.  C.,  1882—1883,  p.  426. 


ARTICLES   MADE   OF   CHERT.  31 


ARTICLES   MADE   OF   CHERT. 

Chips  and  implements  of  flint  are  found  all  through 
the  material  in  the  mounds  and  are  scattered  on  the 
surface  on  the  ground  between  them.  Some  of  the  chert 
contains  silicified  fusulinas.  This  was  perhaps  brought 
from  the  region  of  the  cherty  limestone  farther  east  in 
the  state.  Other  material  resembles  that  found  in  the 
Equus  gravel  and  may  well  have  been  taken  in  the 
surrounding  country.  It  was.  manufactured  into  a  va 
riety  of  objects  such  as  scrapers,  knives,  arrowpoints, 
spearpoints.  awls,  drills,  hoes,  spades,  tomahawks,  and 
hand -ha  miners. 


SCRAPERS. 

The  scraper  was  the  most  common  tool  made  from 
chert.  They  are  found  everywhere.  The  author  col 
lected  some  two  hundred  specimens  and  many  have  been 
carried  away  by  others.  These  implements  average  one 
and  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  length  and  one  inch  in 
width.  It  is  triangular,  with  a  rounded  point  at  one 
end  and  a  convex  wider  base  at  the  other  (Figs.  11,  12 
and  13.)  The  scrapers  occur  in  all  conditions  of  per 
fection  of  workmanship  and  in  all  stages  of  wear  and 
hard  usage.  There  are  great  variations  in  size.  The 
length  runs  from  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  to  nearly  four 
inches;  the  width,  from  one  to  two  inches:  and  the 
thickness,  from  one  eighth  of  an  inch  to  two  thirds. 


32 


SCRAPERS. 


Fio.  11.    Typical  scrapers.    Natural  size. 


The  method  of  making  this  tool  seems  to  have  de 
termined  its  form.  It  is  always  a  flake  with  one  flat 
side  showing  no  chipping.  On  this  side  it  was  evidently 
detached  from  a  larger  piece  of  chert.  Then  the  edges 
were  trimmed  and  straightened  by  small  flaking  on  the 
outer  convex  edges.  This  was  the  easiest  and  quickest 
way  of  making  an  edged  tool  from  chert.  Some  flakes 
have  been  put  into  service  without  any  finishing  what 
ever,  as  is  evident  from  their  worn  unchipped  edges. 


SCRAPKR- 


FIG.  12.    Chert  scrapers.    Typical  forms.    Very  slightly  reduced. 

But  the  scrapers  that  are  well  finished  show  the  most 
wear.  In  two  hundred  specimens  which  were  carefully 
examined,  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  were  rounded 
on  the  left  edge  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-three 
showed  wear  on  the  right  edge.  Twenty-six  of  these 
specimens  were  also  worn  on  the  edge  of  the  base.  In 
this  whole  number  only  fifty-two  specimens  showed  no 
signs  of  having  been  blunted  by  wear.  Of  thirty-five 
roughly  finished  specimens,  t\venty-three  showed  no 
signs  of  wear.  This  indicates  a  preference  among  the 
users  for  finished  tools.  Some  of  the  specimens  indicate 


34 


SCRAPERS. 


that   the  edge,  after  having   been    worn  round,  subse 
quently  was  again  sharpened  by  chipping. 

The  uses  to  which  such  scrapers  could  be  applied 
were  no  doubt  quite  varied,  such  as  removing  meat 
from  bones  and 
scraping  the  bark 
from  the  shafts 
of  arrows.  It 
seems  to  be  an 
instrument  that 
was  capable  of 
being  made  very 
generally  useful  in 
primitive  indus 
tries.  It  appears 
to  have  been 
held  between  the 
thumb  and  the  forefinger  when  in  service,  the  flat  side 
no  doubt  preferably  being  turned  against  the  thumb. 
If  the  users  were  right-handed,  it  ought  to  follow  that 
the  average  wear  of  the  right  edge  of  the  scrapers 
ought  to  be  greater  than  that  of  the  left  edge.  Such 
appears  also  to  be  the  case. 


FIG.  13.    Typical  scrapers.    Natural  sixe. 


IRREGULAR    FORMS  OF   SCRAPERS. 

Some  scrapers  had  a  lengthened  and  sharpened  point 
and  an  irregular  base,  which  did  not  seem  to  have 
been  shaped  for  the  hand  (Plate  III,  fig.  5).  These  did 
not  exhibit  any  wear  of  the  edges  and  may  have  had 


IRREGULAR   FORMS   OF   SCRAPERS. 


FIG.  14.    1,  2,  3.  Thin  chert  flakes,  fashioned  to  knives  with  sharp  edges.  4.  Broken  specimen  of 

the  same  kind.    5.  Entire  knife,  finely  finished.    6.  Roughly  finished  scraper  or  knife.    7.  A  scraper 

with  a  rounded  spoon-shaped  termination.    8.  A  broken  scraper  or  knife.    All  natural  size. 

some  special  use  for  which  the  sharp  point  was  designed. 
They  would  be  effective  instruments  for  flaying  a  rabbit 
or  for  opening  a  fish  or  a  fowl.  Several  scrapers  agree 
in  being  fashioned  with  a  rounded  spoon-like  termina 
tion  instead  of  a  point  (Fig.  14,  no.  7).  The  edges  of 
these  are  well  rounded  and  worn.  Nine  specimens  were 
long  and  narrow  and  had  only  been  chipped  on 


36 


EXPLANATIONS   TO    PLATE    III. 


FIG.  2. 

A  very  even 
ly  chipped  thin 
and  small  knife 


FIG.  1. 

A  form  of  flint 
tool  intermediate 
between  a  scraper 
and  a  knife. 


FIG.  3. 

A  small  flake 
knife  only  slightly 
chipped. 


FIG.  4. 

A  typical  knife, 
chipped  very 

smooth. 


FIG.  5. 

A  long  and  pointed 
scraper. 


FIG.  (i. 

A  typical    flaked 
knife. 


FIG.  7. 

The  largest  scraper 
found.  The  reverse  flat 
side  of  the  specimen 
has  a  concave  flexure  of 
.1875  of  an  inch  in  the 
direction  from  point  to 
base. 


All  figures  are  the  natural  size. 


PLATE    III. 


FLINT    KNIVES. 


39 


edge,  the  other  edge  being  a  fracture  inclined  at  a  high 
angle  to  the  flat  side.  Only  three  of  these  had  the 
chipped  edge  worn;  one  of  them  was  broken.  The  form 
suggests  an  adaptation  of  an  accidentally  formed  chip 
for  easily  obtaining  a  tool  with  a  long  edge. 


FLINT    KNIVES. 


Some  of  the  flint  imple 
ments  which  have  a  partic 
ularly  sharp  edge,  may 
properly  be  called  knives, 
as  they  were  probably  used 
for  cutting.  These  are  made 
of  thin  flakes  which  are 
more  straight  and  usuallv 

V 

longer  than  the  scrapers 
(Fig.  14,  nos.  1,  2?  3.  4. 
5,  and  Plate  III,  fig.  1,  2, 
3,  4,6).  In  a  lot  of  fifteen 
none  exhibited  the  rounded 
blunted  edges  commonly 
seen  among  the  scrapers. 
By  proper  effort  and  care 
they  can  yet  be  used  to 
cut  off  stems  of  shrubs  and 
small  branches  of  trees. 
One  of  these  knives  shows 
a  considerable  amount  of 
skill  and  care  by  the 


FIG.  15..  A  perfect  flint  knife. 


40  ARROWPOINTS. 

maker  (Fig.  15).  It  is  nearly  five  inches  in  length 
and  measures  almost  two  inches  in  width  and  not  more 
than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  with  an  even, 
sharp  edge  all  around.  Another  flint  which  was  sharp 
enough  to  be  used  as  a  knife,  showed  no  finish  whatever. 

ARROWPOINTS. 

Forty-five  arrowpoints  of  flint  were  found,  and  of 
these  only  ten  were  entire.  The  rest  were  more  or  less 
broken.  The  greater  part  are  so  called  bird's  arrow- 
points.  These  are  about  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in 


FUJ.  16.    Arrowpoints.     Natural  size. 

length  and  a  little  less  than  one  half  of  an  inch  in  width 
and  very  thin  (Fig.  16).  Near  the  base  they  are  quite 
thin,  and  have  a  triangular  form,  without  any  barbs 
or  notches  for  attachment.  Only  three  of  them  had 
such  notches  (Fig.  16,  no.  5).  and  these  otherwise  per 
fectly  resembled  the  other  specimens.  Another  type  of 
arrowpoints  was  somewhat  larger,  being  a  little  more 
than  one  inch  in  length  and  slightly  less  than  one  inch 
in  width,  generally  with  notches  above  a  narrow 
base.  No  points  with  true  barbs  have  been  noticed  on 
the  village  site,  as  far  as  the  author  knows. 


SPEARHEADS.  41 

Flints  of  this  kind  are  among  the  most  common  of 
prehistoric  relics,  and  the  number  found  in  this  locality 
seems  rather  small  in  comparison  with  that  of  the 
scrapers.  It  should  be  remembered  that  they  are  of 
small  size  and  not  quite  as  conspicuous  in  the  field  as 
the  scrapers.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  scrapers  were  as  well 
taken  care  of  as  the  arrow-points,  which  were  more 
difficult  to  make.  Arrows  were  used  and  lost  on  the 
hunting1  grounds  rather  than  in  the  village,  beyond  the 
limits  of  which  the  scrapers  may  not  so  often  have 
been  taken. 


SPEARHEADS. 

There  were  also  found  thirty-two  chipped  flint  imple 
ments,  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  used  as  spear 
heads.  Only  six  specimens  were  entire.  Ten  were  broken- 
off  points,  six  of  the  fragments  had  the  base  entire,  and 
ten  had  both  the  base  and  the  point  broken  off.  Three 
different  types  may  be  distinguished  in  the  lot.  In  two 
of  these  types  the  left  edge  has  been  beveled  upward 
and  the  right  edge  downward  in  such  a  way  that  when 
thrown  the  spear  would  tend  to  rotate  from  right  to 
left  (Plate  IV.  figs.  1.  2.  3.  4.  (5).  In  the  other  type 
the  chipping  is  equal  on  both  sides  of  each  edge  and 
the  edge  itself  is  sharper  (Plate  IV.  fig.  5).  There  are 
two  kinds  of  the  beveled  spearheads.  One  has  a  base 
which  is  separated  from  the  point  by  wide  notches,  evi 
dently  intended  for  strengthening  the  attachment  (Plate 
IV.  figs.  2.  4).  while  in  the  other  kind  the  base  is  drawn 


EXPLANATIONS   TO    PLATE    IV. 


FIG.  1. 

A  large  bevel  edged  spear 
head  with  a  flat  base.  Not 
much  used. 


Fio.  2. 
A    narrow, 
probably  sever 
al     times      re- 
chipped     bevel 
edged     spear 
head  with 
notched   base. 
Droken. 


FIG.  3. 

A  broken,  prob 
ably  re-chipped 
bevel  edged  spear- 
point  with  a  flat 
base. 


FIG.  4. 

A  broken  bevel  edged 
spearpoint  with  a  notched 
base. 


FIG.  5. 

A  spearhead  with  a 
flat  base  and  equally 

much  flaked  on 
the  two  sides  of  the 
edges.  The  point  is 
down  and  the  orig 
inal  photograph  is 
somewhat  imper" 
feet. 


FIG.  6. 

A  bevel  edged 
spearhead  with  Hat 
base.  Made  of  dark 
yellow  flint. 


All  are  nearly  the  natural  size. 


PLATE   IV. 


SPEARHEADS.  45 

out  into  a  flat  point  without  any  notches  (Plate  IV, 
figs.  1,  3,  6).  Most  of  the  specimens  seem  to  be  of  this 
latter  kind.  The  users  of  these  spearheads  were  prob 
ably  in  the  habit  of  sharpening  them  by  chipping  off 
flakes  on  the  beveled  edges,  whenever  these  would  be 
come  blunt,  for  in  some  of  the  specimens  that  seem  to 
have  been  much  used,  the  point  tapers  very  slowly  at 
first  and  then  rapidly  toward  the  base,  the  whole  edge 
presenting  a  concave  outline  instead  of  a  convex  one 
(Plate  IV,  figs.  2,  3).  The  edge  may  originally  have 
been  made  straight,  and  sharpened  by  flaking  after 
ward.  The  same  is  also  indicated  by  the  nature  of  the 
edge  itself.  The  largest  of  the  spearheads  were  four- 
inches  in  length  and  one  and  three  quarters  of  an  inch 
in  width. 

Archaeologists  have  found  it  difficult  to  establish  a 
precise  distinction  between  nrrowpoints  and  spear 
heads.*  Some  of  the  above  described  specimens  may 
have  been  used  for  large  arrows.  The  chief  difference  in 
the  use  of  the  spear  and  the  arrow  was  that  the  former 
was  thrown  from  the  hand  while  the  latter  was  impelled 
by  the  bow-string.  Both  were  used  in  warfare  and  in 
chase.  The  spear  was  probably  also  used  in  fishing. 

Dr.  Thomas  Wilson,  who  has  made  a  special  study 
of  the  bevel-edged  spearheads,  states  that  in  their  dis 
tribution  these  flints  are  confined  to  the  interior  part 
of  the  United  States  and  to  the  South.  He  also  regards 
it  as  evident  that  the  beveling  was  intended  to  make 
the  missile  rotate  in  its  flight,  and  notes  that  this 

*  Arrowpoints,  Spearheads,  and  Knives  of  Prehistoric  Times  by  Thomas  Wil 
son,  An.  Kept.  Smith.  Inst.,  1897,  p.  889. 


46  AWLS. 

might  have  been  more  easily  effected  by  twisting  the 
feathers  on  the  shaft.  It  should  be  remembered  in  this 
connection  that  if  the  point  were  not  also  twisted  in  a 
rotating  spear,  its  penetration  would  no  doubt  be  less, 
as  the  cutting  edge  would  be  made  to  traverse  a  plane 
which  would  always  be  more  or  less  oblique  to  the 
plane  of  the  point  itself. 


AWLS. 

About  a  dozen  implements  of  flint  were  of  such  form 
as  to  suggest  a  use  like  that  of  the  awl,  for  making 
perforations  through  hides.  These  had  an  extended 
sharp  point  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  length, 


FIG.  17.    Awls  made  from  flint.    Very  slightly  reduced. 

about  three  sixteenths  of  an  inch  in  width,  and  almost 
the  same  thickness,  extending  from  a  base  of  variable 
shape  (Fig.  17).  In  one  instance  this  base  showed  that 
the  implement  had  been  made  from  a  scraper.  These 
points  can  readily  be  used  for  making  stitches  through 
leather  and,  if  proper  care  be  taken,  for  boring  small 
holes  in  soft  wood. 


LEAF-FLINTS   AND   TOMAHAWKS.  47 

DRILLS. 

Kelated  to  the  awls,  there  are  some  carefully  chipped 
drills,  which  differ  from  the  awls  in  being  thicker,  longer, 
less  sharply  pointed,  more  straight,  and  more  uniform 


FIG.  IS.    Drills  made  from  flint.    Very  slightly  reduced. 

in  width  (Fig.  18).  These  have  no  widened  base  to  be 
used  as  a  handle.  Most  of  them  show  considerable 
wear  on  the  edges  and  the  nature  of  this  wearing  is 
such  as  to  suggest  that  it  may  have  been  produced  by 
turning  the  instrument  in  a  hole.  The  drilling  observed 
in  some  catlinite  pipes,  described  farther  on,  may  have 
been  made  by  means  of  these  tools. 

LEAF-FLINTS  AND  TOMAHAWKS. 

Quite  a  number  of  large  chipped  flint  pieces  were 
found  which  may  have  served  as  hoes  or  spades  for 
cultivating  the  soil  and  for  digging  in  the  ground  (Figs. 
19,  20).  Only  two  of  these  specimens  were  found  en 
tire.  One  was  six  inches  long,  three  and  one  half 


48 


LEAF-FLINTS   AND   TOMAHAWKS. 


FIG.  IV.    IIoe(?)  made  of  flint. 
Reduced  to  about  l/2  of  the  natural  size. 


FIG.  20.    IIoe(?)  made  from  Hint. 
Considerably  reduced. 


inches  wide,  and  three-fourths  of  an  inch  thick.  Some  of 
them  must  have  been  about  a  foot  in  length,  perhaps 
six  inches  wide,  and  about  an  inch  in  thickness.  They 
are  oval  in  shape  and  are  chipped  to  an  irregular  edge 
all  around.  They  resemble  the  leaf-flints  common  in 
the  mounds  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  One  large  flint  is 
evidently  a  tomahawk  (Fig.  21).  It  is  nearly  five  inches 
long,  and  has  a  wide  constriction,  produced  by  flaking 
around  the  middle,  dividing  it  into  two  lobe-like  ends. 
This  constriction  is  worn  smooth  and  polished  by  the 
handle  to  which  it  had  been  fastened. 


HAND   HAMMERS. 


49 


Fid.  21.    Tomahawk  made  from  flint.     Somewhat  reduced. 


HAND   HAMMERS. 

Some  irregularly  shaped  flint  pieces  were  perhaps 
raw  material  for  the  manufacture  of  implements.  Others 
were  rounded  and  battered  and  have  probably  been 
used  as  hand  hammers,  as  balls  in  games,  or  as  nut 
crackers  (Fig.  22). 


50 


ARTICLES   MADE   FROM    SANDSTONE. 


ARTICLES  MADE   FROM   SANDSTONE. 

Grindstones.  Several  kinds  of  useful  implements  were 
made  from  sandstone.  The  most  important  of  these 
were  perhaps  the  grindstones,  or  metates  and  pestles 
(Figs.  23,  24).  These  are  sandstone  slabs  some  eight 
een  inches  long,  ten 
inches  wide,  and  from 
two  to  six  inches  in 
thickness.  They  have 
a  shallow  concavity  on 
one  of  their  flat  sides. 
This  hollow  was  evi 
dently  produced  by  wear 
in  grinding.  The  upper 
stone,  or  pestle,  as  it 
may  be  called, was  about 
eight  inches  in  length, 
three  and  a  half  inches 
in  width,  and  about  two 
inches  in  thickness.  It 
was  convex  on  both  sides,  but  more  flattened  on  the 
side  which  was  applied  to  the  lower  stone.  Three  entire 
and  several  broken  lower  stones  have  been  found  on 
the  site  of  the  mounds,  and  more  than  a  dozen  pestles. 
Prof.  J.  E.  Welin  has  kindly  furnished  the  following 
measurements  of  these  stones. 


Fn;.  22.      Battered  hand  hammer  made  of  flint. 
Reduced  to  about  four-fifths  of  the  natural  size. 


GRINDSTONES. 


51 


MEASUREMENTS    OF   METATES. 


Number. 

CONDITION. 

LENGTH             WIDTH 

in  inches.           in  inches. 

THICKNESS 
in  inches. 

1 

Entire  (Fig   23)  

•21                       14 

6. 

2 

Entire  (Fig  24)  

IS                      92 

3 

3 

Entire  

16.5                 10. 

3.8 

4 
5 

Much  worn,  and  broken.... 
Entire  

10.5                 15  5 

14.                     8  2 

5. 
1.5 

6 

Entire  

9  5                  5.5 

1.6 

Broken  at  both  ends  

5.5                  9. 

2.2 

MEASUREMENTS   OF   UPPER    OR    HAND    GRINDSTONES. 


Number. 

CONDITIONS.                            LEXGJH            WID™ 
in  inches.            in  inches. 

THICKNESS 
in  inches. 

1 

Entire  10.                  38 

26 

9 

Entire  9.2                3.7 

2.9 

3 

Entire  .                8.7                3.6 

1.8 

4 

Entire  8.7                3.8 

1.7 

5 

Entire  8.2                3.6 

2. 

6 

Entire  8.                  3.5 

2.2 

7 

Entire,  much  worn  7.2                3.5 

1.4 

8 

Entire  7.                   2.7 

1.6 

9 

Eut  re  6.5                3.3 

1.7 

10 

Entire  6.                  3.2 

.      1.4 

11 

Entire  6.2                2.8 

1.6 

12 

Entire  6.2                3.7 

1.7 

13 

Entire    4.7                4.1 

1.4 

14 
15 

(Entire,  but  changed  intol 
<a    inallet    by     cutting    a>            5.7                3.7 
(groove  around  the  middle] 
b                                                            5.2                3.3 

3.2 
1.7 

16 

Imperfectly  shaped  s-- 

1.9 

17 

18 

Possibly  a  broken  metate...           6.7                3.6 
Broken             i                               3-6 

1.7 
1.7 

52 


GRINDSTONES. 


ARROW-SMOOTHEXERS.  53 

Most,  if  not  all,  of  these  grindstones  are  made  from 
the  Dakota  sandstone.  Specially  indurated  blocks  have 
been  selected.  The  metates  have  not  all  been  dressed 
to  their  present  form.  A  few  appear  to  be  merely 
broken,  oblong,  irregularly  rectangular  blocks,  worn 
smooth  on  one  side.  More  pains  were  taken  with  the 
hand  grinders.  Some  slightly  worn  specimens  of  these 
show  the  pick  marks  of  the  dressing  tool,  whatever 
that  may  have  been.  Other  ones  have  been  further 
smoothened  by  special  grinding  or  by  wear  in  use. 
Several  specimens  bear  the  mark  of  long  continued  ser 
vice,  as  do  also  most  of  the  metates.  A  thickness  of 
nearly  two  inches  has  been  ground  off  from  the  upper- 
face  of  some  of  the  latter,  and  from  the  form  of  some 
of  the  hand  stones  we  must  infer  that  these  have  been 
reduced  by  nearly  half  of  that  thickness.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  these  stones  were  used  for  grinding  corn. 
Their  number  and  condition  testify  that  this  grain 
was  an  important  part  of  the  food  among  the  natives 
who  used  them.  It  is  quite  evident  that  these  people 
must  have  had  some  knowledge  of  agriculture. 


ARROW-SMOOTHENERS. 

Thirty-five  specimens  of  arrow-smootheners  were  taken 
up  out  of  the  material  of  the  mounds  (Figs.  25.  26.) 
These  were  all  made  from  Dakota  sandstone.  Only  five 
seem  to  be  entire  specimens.  Of  thirty  broken  ones 
quite  a  number  show  unmistakable  evidence  of  having 
been  used  after  thev  were  broken.  In  one  instance  two 


54 


GRINDSTONES. 


""   so 


E   o 


ARROW-SMOOTHEXERS. 


such  pieces  were  found  to  fit  together  endwise  by  their 
fractured  surfaces,  while  one  of  them  had  its  sides  con 
siderably  more  worn  than  the  other  (Fig-.  27).  These 
implements  are  pieces  of  sandstone  of  suitable  size  and 


FIG.  25.    Arroxv-smootheuers  made  from  sandstone.    The  upper  specimen  shcnvs  the  typical  form. 

The  lower  specimen  is  perhaps  a  piece  of  an  arrow-straightener.     The  grooves  run  out  before 

reaching  the  end  of  the  stone.    Slightly  reduced  from  the  natural  size. 

shape  for  being  held  in  the  partly  closed  hand.  They 
have  one  or  more  longitudinal  grooves  on  one  or 
several  sides.  It  may  be  that  the  arrow-shafts  were  not 
the  only  objects  ground  on  these  stones,  for  the  grooves 
are  not  always  round.  Some  of  the  grooves  have  deep- 


56 


CUPPED   STONES. 


enings,  widenings,  and  turns, 
and  such  stones  cannot  have 
been  intended  for  use  in  smooth- 
ening  a  straight  stick.  The 
greater  number  of  forms  of  this 
kind  were  probably  used  in 
straightening  crooked  arrow- 
shafts,  as  has  been  suggested  in 
a  recent  paper  by  Dr.  Thomas 
Wilson.  Some  specimens  which 
seem  well  adapted  for  such  a 
purpose,  are  wider  than  the  rest 
and  have  on  one  side  two  or 
three  parallel  grooves,  which 
terminate  before  coming  to  the 
end  of  the  stone  (Fig.  25).  In 
the  straightening  process  the 
crooked  part  of  the  shafts  are 
supposed  to  have  been  pressed 
into  these  grooves.  The  stone 
was  probably  heated  for  the 

„  .-.  f,  FIG.    20.      Arrow-smoothener,    made 

purpose     oi   temporarily    SOIL-     from  sandstone.   Reduced  to  %  of 

the  natural  size. 

ening  the  wood.    Such  a  proce 
dure   would    account  for   the   fact   that   nearly  all   the 
stones    of    this    kind    were  broken    across  the    middle. 


CUPPED   STONES. 

Some  pieces  of  sandstone  of  irregular  shape  had  cup- 
like  cavities  on  their  flat  sides.  These  cups  were  about 
an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter  and  had  a 


CATLINITE   PIPES. 


57 


depth  of  a  little  more  or 
less  than  a  quarter  of  an 
inch.  It  is  believed  that 
these  may  have  served  as 
mortars  for  preparing 
paint  used  in  personal  de- 

COratlOll. 


FIG.  27.  Broken  arrow-smoothener.  Left  fragment 
worn  after  breaking.    Reduced  to  H  • 


CATLINITE   PIPES. 

In  the  collection  are  four  fragments  of  catlinite  pipes 
(Fig.  28).  Thi-ee  of  these  were  from  very  finely  finished 
specimens,  which,  it  may  be  supposed,  had  been  used 
for  some  time  and  then  broken  by  accident.  One  of 
them  was  the  elbow  of  a  pipe  which  had  never  been 
finished.  Its  outer  surface  showed  the  coarse  scratchings 
made  in  grinding  it  into  shape.  The  polishing  was 
perhaps  left  until  after  the  drilling  of  the  holes,  and  in 
this  case  the  drill  went  too  far  to  one  side  so  as  to 
break  through,  thus  causing  the  specimen  to  be  dis 
carded.  The  nature  of  the  ends  of  the  perforations  show 
that  the  drill  was  not  a  hollow  reed,  but  solid  and 
somewhat  pointed.  One  of  the  fragments  was  ground 
on  the  fractured  surfaces  and  may  perhaps  have  been 
carried  about  as  a  totem.  Two  small  pieces  of  catlinite 
appeared  to  be  chips  struck  off  by  the  workman  in 
roughly  shaping  the  pipes.  On  a  farm  southwest  of  the 
site  of  the  mounds,  several  finished  and  entire  pipes 
have  been  picked  up  and  also  a  piece  of  pipestone  about 
three  inches  square  and  one  inch  in  thickness.  The 


58 


CATLINITE    PIPES. 


pipes  are  about  two  inches  long,  with  a  short  bend  near 
the  end  for  the  attachment  of  the  stem.     They  are  not 


FIG.  28.    Uppermost  figure:  Small  catlinite  pipe.    Lower  left  hand  figure:  Piece  of 

worked  catlinite.    Right  hand  figure:    Fragment  of  a  broken  pipe   (unfinished). 

All  slightly  reduced. 

much  more  than  five  eighths  of  an  inch  in  their  great 
est  width,  and  the  perforation  is  about  three  eighths  of 
an  inch  in  diameter.  The  piece  of  catlinite  must  have 


STONE  MALLETS.  59 

been  a  stone  in  the  rough  intended  for  the  manufacture 
of  pipes.  Pieces  had  been  taken  off  from  three  of  its 
edges  by  cutting  grooves  on  both  sides  and  then  break 
ing  along  the  grooves.  On  one  side  the  groove  is 
crooked,  as  if  the  part  broken  off  had  been  intended  for 
an  elbow  pipe.  The  two  flat  sides  were  somewhat  con 
vex  and  smooth  and  polished,  as  by  wear.  It  was  no 
doubt  brought  from  the  pipe-stone  quarry  in  Minnesota 
and  kept  as  a  precious  article  by  some  native,  who 
finally  lost  it.  The  small  pieces  taken  from  the  mounds 
on  the  old  village  site,  indicate  that  those  who  lived 
there  had  communication  with  the  same  distant  place, 
either  directly  or  through  the  channels  of  primitive 
trade.  All  of  the  pipes  found,  broken  as  well  as  entire, 
belong  to  the  Siouau  type  as  defined  by  McGuire,.* 


ARTICLES  MADE   FROM  VARIOUS  MATERIALS. 

Stone  Mfillets.  Several  implements  taken  on  the  site 
of  these  mounds  must  be  classed  as  mallets,  or  large 
hammers.  These  consist  of  cylindrical  or  slightly  quad 
rangular  rounded  stones  having  a  groove  around  the 
curving  surface  midway  between  the  two  ends  (Plate 
V).  Most  of  these  implements  were  made  from  brown 
or  red,  strong  sandstone,  but  two  were  of  limestone. 
One  consists  of  a  highly  ferruginous  and  tough  sand 
stone  or  quartzite,  with  a  bright  red  matrix.  The  sand 
stone  in  this  specimen  and  that  in  some  of  the  others 
does  not  resemble  any  of  the  local  modifications  of  the 

*  Ann.  Rep.,  Smithsonian  Institution,  1897,  p.  571. 


60 


STONE   MALLETS. 


EXPLANATIONS   TO    PLATE   V. 


FIG.  1. 

Imperfectly  shaped  small  mallet,  made 
of  local  Dakota  sandstone. 


FIG.  2. 

Perfectly  formed  mallet,  made  from  a 
hard  ferruginous  sandstone  of  un 
known  locality. 


FIG.  3. 

Large,  old  and  worn  mallet,  made  of 
limestone. 


FIG.  4. 

Perfectly  formed  mallet,  made  from  a 
hard  ferruginous  sandstone  or  quartz- 
ite.  Probably  not  much  used.  Pick- 
marks  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the  sur 
face. 


Reduced  to  slightly  less  than  one  half  the  natural  size. 


PLATE   V. 


ARTICLES   MADE   FROM    VARIOUS    MATERIALS.  63 

Dakota  rock  in  this  vicinity,  known  to  the  author,  nor 
do  they  resemble  the  usual  form  of  the  Sioux  quartz- 
ite.  The  rock  has  no  doubt  been  brought  from  some 
distance,  and  its  presence  here  gives  further  evidence 
that  aboriginal  art  was  not  limited  to  the  resources  of 
its  immediate  surroundings  in  the  raw  materials  which 
it  employed. 

As  to  the  particular  purpose  for  which  these  imple 
ments  were  prepared  it  is  difficult  to  form  an  opinion. 
The  author  must  leave  this  to  the  conjecture  of  the 
reader,  and  to  students  who  have'  more  material  for 
comparison  and  a  better  knowledge  of  the  arts  and 
customs  of  the  prehistoric  races.  When  in  use  they  were 
perhaps  attached  to  wooden  handles.  These  may  have 
been  bent  around  the  body  of  the  stone,  following  the 
groove,  and  the  bent  end  tied  to  the  main  handle,  this 
mode  of  attachment  being  used  in  the  case  of  stone 
axes  similarly  grooved.  Mallets  of  the  same  size  and 
shape  are  known  to  have  been  in  use,  probably  as  ham 
mers  or  clubs,  by  some  of  the  Sioux  Indians  in  the 
region  of  the  Yellowstone.*  Such  a  weapon  might  be 
useful  in  hunting  the  buffalo  or  in  warfare.  The  smallest 
ones  are  light  enough  to  be  thrown  from  thongs  or 
ropes  and  to  be  used  like  the  bolos  of  the  Indians  of 
South  America. 

Prof.  Welin  of  Lindsborg  has  made  the  following 
measurements  of  the  mallets  now  found  in  the  collection. 
Linear  dimensions  are  given  in  inches. 

*  See  note  by  F.  W.  Putnam,  Ethnology,  TI.  S.  Geogr.  Surv.  West  of  the  100 
Mer.,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  200. 


64 


TH  ROWING-STONES. 
MEASUREMENTS   OF  STONE  MALLETS. 


Number. 

CONDITION  AND  MATERIAL. 

Weight  in 
av.  ounces. 

Greatest 
length  . 

Greatest 
diameter. 

Diameter 
in  groove. 

1 

Ends  flat;  hard  sandstone  

63. 

4  3 

3  6 

3  3 

2 
8 

Rounded  ends;  hard  sandstone 
Flattened;  hard  sandstone  

53.5 
53  5 

4.5 

44 

4.5 
3  6 

4. 
3  3 

4 
5 

Irregular  in  shape;  limestone.... 
H  ard  san  d  stone  

51. 

36. 

5. 
44 

3.9 

3  7 

3.5 
3  2 

6 

Hard  sandstone  

28  5 

3  6 

3  2 

2  9 

7 

Hard  sandstone  

24.5 

3.0 

3.4 

28 

s 

Uroken;  limestone  

9 

9 

9 

9 

THROWING-STONES? 

Ten  disc-shaped  or  wheel-shaped  stones  were  found 
(Fig1.  29).  These  measured  about  three  inches  in  dia 
meter  and  from  one  inch  to  one  and  a  half  in  thickness. 
The  most  carefully  shaped  specimens  of  this  description 
have  the  circular  surfaces  flat  and  the  round  border 
straight.  In  several  instances  the  border  is  convex,  as 
is  also  to  some  extent  the  flat  sides.  In  some  cases 
there  was  only  a  rude  approximation  to  this  type.  Two 
specimens  were  broken  in  halves.  Some  were  made  of 
limestone  and  some  of  sandstone.  It  is  to  be  inferred 
that  the  texture  of  the  rock  was  of  no  consequence  in 
the  use  to  which  these  stones  were  applied.  Perhaps 
they  represent  some  instruments  in  games.  Their  size 
permits  them  to  be  thrown  from  the  hand  with  com 
parative  ease,  and  they  may  then  readily  be  caused  to 
roll  for  a  considerable  distance  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground. 


A    PROBLEMATIC   RELIC. 


65 


FIG.  2i».    Disc  shaped  throwing-stone.    Reduced  to  5s  of  natural  size. 


A  PROBLEMATIC  RELIC. 

A  piece  of  white  quartz,  carefully  worked  and  pol 
ished,  is  a  relic  of  somewhat 
uncertain  character  (Fig  30).  It 
may  be  described  as  a  circular 
piece  of  rock  an  inch  and  a  half 
in  diameter,  with  one  side  convex 
and  drawn  out  in  the  center  into 
a  blunt  and  rounded  protuberance 
about  half  an  inch  in  height. 
The  other  side  is  concave  with  a 
depth  in  the  center  of  about  three  FlG.  30.  convex  (anterior)  side  of 

,       ,      -.  . -i  a  cupped  piece  of  quartz.    Slightly 

sixteenths    of   an  inch  below  the  reduced. 


66  A    PIECE   OF   AN   OLD   ARMOR. 

rim  (Fig.   31).     The  convex  surface  of  this  specimen  is 

very  smooth  and  almost   polished,    while   the   concave 

surface  is  less  nicely  finished.    The  edge  of  the  disc  is  a 

fractured  surface.     The  writer  has  seen 

no  similar  relic  described  anywhere  from 

our    aboriginal    races.      Its  use  seems. 

indeed,  enigmatic.  The  concave  side  may 

have  served   as   a   paint   cup,   but  this 

will   not  explain  why    the    convex    side 

has  been  so  well  finished.     It  has  been 

suggested  that  the  specimen  may  have 

served    as    a   weaning-nipple.       If    such 

Fig.  31  Outline  of  a  diametral 


...  -.         g.         u 

is  the    case,  it   is  easy  to     understand  section  through  a  d^c-nke 

piece  of   worked  quartc. 

ij_l  •  i  •  .1        •  j_  There  is  a  protrusion  like  a 

Wliy       the      COnVeX      Side,      Witt      itS      DrOtU-    nipple   on  one  side,  and    a 

concavity   on  the  other. 

berance,   has    been    finished    with    such 
great  care.     It    quite   perfectly    resembles    the    human 
nipple.    This  theory  also  explains  the  concavity  on  the 
opposite  side.    The  suggestion  is  mentioned  for  what  it 
is  worth. 


A    PIECE   OF  AN   OLD  ARMOR. 

One  of  the  relics  found  has  a  special  historical  in 
terest.  It  demonstrates  that  this  village  was  inhabited 
by  Indians  after  the  European  race  had  come  over  to 
this  continent.  In  one  of  the  mounds  located  near  the 
center  of  the  group,  there  wras  found  at  the  depth  of 
six  inches  below  the  surface,  a  piece  of  chain-mail  made 
of  iron  (Frontispiece).*  It  measured  about  two  inches 
square  and  the  size  of  the  oval  rings  was  a  little  less 

•*  This  relic  was  dug  out  in  the  author's  presence  by  Mr.  (}.  A.  Hven,  now  of 
Garfield,  Kansas. 


A    PIECE   OF   AN   OLD   ARMOR.  67 

than  one  half  of  an  inch  in  length.  The  metal  had 
suffered  much  from  oxidation  and  the  spaces  between 
the  rings  were  filled  with  rust  so  thick  that  the  whole 
specimen  was  almost  a  solid  mass.  Unfortunately  the 
precious  relic  was  lost.  The  author  took  the  precau 
tion,  however,  to  have  it  photographed  soon  after  it 
was  found.  So  far  as  the  author  is  aware,  the  object 
itself  was  seen  by  only  two  parties  who  had  a  knowl 
edge  of  antiquities  of  this  kind  and  who  could  be  con 
sidered  competent  to  identify  it  as  a  piece  of  chain 
mail.  It  was  shown  to  Dr.  J.  A.  Enander  of  Chicago, 
then  on  a  lecturing  tour  in  the  west.  He  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  best  authorities  in  America  on  the  antiq 
uities  of  the  Northmen.  This  gentleman  stated  that 
the  metal  fabric  had  a  close  resemblance  to  that  of  a 
Swedish  brynja,  the  coat  of  mail  used  by  the  vikings. 
It  was  also  examined  by  Dr.  John  Kundstrom,  an 
accomplished  gentleman  and  naturalist  residing  near 
Lindsborg  at  the  time.  He  is  well  informed  on  European 
antiquities  since  the  time  of  his  residence  as  a  student 
at  the  University  of  Lund  in  Sweden.  In  his  judgement 
the  relic  was  a  fragment  of  a  piece  of  chain  mail. 

On  the  surface  of  one  of  the  mounds  there  were 
picked  up  one  or  two  perforated  beads  of  blue  glass. 
Lying  out  in  the  open  field  on  the  opposite  side  of  a 
creek  from  the  nearest  farm  house,  built  and  occupied 
by  a  lone  bachelor,  these  beads  are  not  likely  to  have 
been  lost  by  recent  settlers.  More  probably  they  once 
belonged  to  some  inhabitant  in  the  old  village.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  the  beads  were  made  in  Europe 
or  in  some  European  colony  in  America. 


68  PROBABLE    CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   TRIBE. 

PROBABLE  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  TRIBE. 

In  describing  these  products  of  aboriginal  art  it 
seemed  desirable  to  classify  them  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  material  from  which  they  were  made.  If  we  wish 
to  study  the  people  to  whom  the  relics  once  belonged, 
their  mode  of  life,  their  habits,  and  probable  tribal 
relationships,  it  will  serve  our  purpose  better  to  make 
our  classification  on  the  basis  of  the  known  or  probable 
uses  for  which  the  relics  once  served.  It  is  not  the  pur 
pose  of  the  author  to  say  much  on  this  phase  of  the 
subject.  But  a  few  remarks  quite  naturally  suggest 
themselves  in  this  direction  also. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  uses  of  some  relics 
are  uncertain.  Notched  bones  (see  page  18)  have  been 
variously  regarded  as  records,*  as  instruments  used  in 
making  bowstrings,  and  as  appliances  used  in  weaving. 
Recently  Professor  Starr  has  shown  that  some  Indians 
use  bones  of  this  kind  for  producing  rattling  noises  in 
certain  dances.  To  do  this  another  bone  is  drawn 
across  the  notches  in  rhythmic  strokes  that  accompany 
the  movements  of  the  dancers.  ** 

Disregarding  such  uncertainties  we  may,  nevertheless, 
take  into  consideration  the  number  of  each  kind  of 
different  relics  and  make  a  sort  of  inventory  of  the  stock 
in  hand,  and  thus  draw  some  conclusions  as  to  the 
occupations,  customs,  and  wants  of  the  original  owners. 
Such  an  inventory  is  presented  in  the  following  table. 

*  See  "Marked  Human  Bones  from  a  Prehistoric  Tarasco  Indian",  etc.,  Vol.  X, 
Bulletin  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

**  See  Notched  Bones  from  Mexico,  by  Prof.  Fredrick  Starr,  Proceedings  of  the 
Davenport  Academy  of  Science,  Davenport,  la.,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  101. 


PROBABLE   CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   TRIBE.  69 

INVENTORY    OF    THE    VILLAGE    RELICS. 


KINDS   OF   RELICS   FOUND. 


NUMBER. 


IMPLEMENTS  USED  IN  DOMESTIC  WORK 

Scrapers 200 

Knives 1«> 

Millstones 25 

HOUSEHOLD  UTENSILS | 

Earthenware  jars  (number  estimated) 50 

Spoons,  made  of  shells j  2 

Bowl  (earthenware) 1 

Cup  (earthenware) 1 

AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS 16 

Hoes  and  spades,  made  of  flint 10 

Hoes  and  spades,  made  of  bone 0 

IMPLEMENTS  OF  CHASE  AND  WARFARE 

Arrowpoints |  45 

Spearheads 32 

Stone  mallets? 8 

Tomahawks 2 

TOOLS  USED  IN  SPECIAL  TRADES 

Arrow-smootheners 30 

Awls 12 

Hand-hammers  (for  chipping  flint?) 5 

Drills 6 

Flint  flakers  (bone) 3 

OBJECTS  RELATING  TO  PERSONAL  ORNAMENT  ANDCOMFORT 

Paint  mortars?  (cupped  stones) 3 

Catlinite  pipes 

Bone  beads 

Hairpins? 

Weaning-uipple? 1 

OBECTS  USED  IN  SPORTS  AND  GAMES? 

Throwing-stones 1^ 

Total...  473 


It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  nearly  five  hundred 
objects  represented  in  the  collection.  About  half  of  the 
number  consists  of  implements  which  have  been  used  in 


70  PROBABLE   CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   TRIBE. 

domestic  work.  This  is  quite  natural.  Things  used 
about  the  dwellings  would  also  be  lost  in  their  imme 
diate  proximity.  The  scraper  is  particularly  abundant. 
It  was  a  tool  easily  prepared  (Fig1.  27).  Its  manu 
facture  required  no  particular  skill.  When  lost  it  was 
easily  replaced.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  the 
scrapers  are  entire.  They  have  not  been  thrown  away. 
They  have  been  lost.  With  the  knives  it  is  different. 
These  were  made  with  greater  care  and  apparently  also 
selected  from  fortuitously  well  adapted  flakes;  such  as 
were  thin  and  straight  and  had  an  even  grain.  There 
are  only  two  or  three  entire  knives.  The  others  are 
broken  and  have  evidently  been  thrown  away  only  after 
becoming  useless.  A  flint  knife  was  a  precious  article, 
worth  searching  for  if  lost,  and  so  we  find  a  less 
number  of  them  now.  The  many  potsherds  testify  that 
these  people  took  some  pains  in  preparing  their  food 
and  perhaps  their  drink,  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  to 
what  extent  they  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  The 
small  number  of  implements  adapted  for  tilling  the 
ground  seem  out  of  proportion  to  the  number  of  stones 
used  in  grinding  the  crops.  Possibly  wooden  implements 
were  used  in  this  primitive  farming.  Or  the  cultivated 
land  may  have  been  at  some  distance  from  the  village 
site  and  the  hoes  and  spades  may  have  been  left  and 
lost  out  in  the  field.  Or  it  may  be  that  the  natives 
lived  in  the  village  only  during  the  cold  season 
and  took  up  their  abode  at  some  other  place  during 
summer.  The  relative  abundance  of  tools  useful  in 
primitive  handicraft,  such  as  arrow-smootheners,  awls, 
flakers,  and  also  scrapers,  suggests  that  the  inhabit- 


ETHNIC    RELATIONSHIP.  71 

ants  were  engaged  in  such  work  to  a  considerable  ex 
tent,  during  the  time  of  their  stay  on  these  grounds. 
The  colder  part  of  the  year  would  seem  to  be  specially 
conducive  to  such  occupation. 

These  people  do  not  seem  to  have  been  a  warlike 
tribe.  There  are  only  two  flints  in  the  collection  that 
resemble  tomahawks.  Their  arrow-points  and  spearheads 
seem  better  suited  for  the  killing  of  small  game  than 
for  the  battlefield.  But  few  of  the  relics  can  be  regarded 
as  implements  of  war.  This  may  perhaps  be  taken  as 
an  indication  that  the  inhabitants  were  a  peaceful  race, 
who  quietly  subsisted  on  the  natural  resources  of  the 
western  plains,  before  the  strife  had  yet  begun  which 
was  a  result  of  the  encroachments  of  civilization  from 
the  East. 


ETHNIC    RELATIONSHIP. 

A  guess  may  perhaps  be  warranted  as  to  the  ethnic 
relationship  of  the  tribe.  We  have  seen  that  some  frag 
ments  of  catlinite  pipes  picked  up  with  the  other  mate 
rial  were  of  the  so  called  Siouan  type  and  that  the 
stone  mallets  are  of  a  kind  that  is  known  to  have  been 
used  by  some  tribes  of  the  Sioux  Indians  of  the  west. 
The  Sioux  Indians  were  to  some  extent  an  agricultural 
people.  They  raised  corn.  So  did  also  the  inhabitants 
of  this  village.  They  possibly  belonged  to  some  tribe 
of  the  great  Siouan  family.  But  if  such  was  the  case, 
they  lived  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Siouan  domain.  To 
the  south  and  the  west  there  were  other  Indians. 
Those  of  this  village  seem  to  have  ground  their  corn  on 


72  ETHNIC    RELATIONSHIP. 

mills  that  are  more  like  those  of  their  southern  and 
western  neighbors.  Stone  metates  are  more  common 
in  the  southwest  than  in  the  territory  to  the  north. 
The  beveled  form  of  spearheads  seems  also  to  be  a 
feature  of  their  rude  art,  which  they  had  in  common 
with  the  Indians  of  the  south.  Tribes  of  the  Ponca 
family,  as  the  Wichitas  and  the  Pawnees,  have  at 
different  times  lived  on  the  Arkansas,  the  Kansas,  and 
the  Platte  rivers  in  the  central  part  of  the  Western 
Plains.  They  seem  to  have  migrated  occasionally  both 
north  and  south.  Mr.  Hodge  says  that  the  "Wichitas 
shifted  their  settlements  from  time  to  time  as  necessity 
demanded  and  that  more  than  one  time  their  settle 
ments  were  on  and  north  of  the  Arkansas  river."*  At 
an  early  time  their  home  was  farther  south.  In  a 
border  tribe  there  would  inevitably  be  some  mingling 
of  arts  and  customs  of  the  neighboring  nations  with 
those  of  its  own.  The  use  of  ground  shell  as  well  as 
sand  for  tempering  the  earthenware  may  have  such  a 
significance.  Captain  Marcy,  who  visited  a  Wichita 
village  near  Washita  river  in  1852,  says  that  their 
"lodges  were  about  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
base",  and  consisted  of  a  frame- work  of  poles  placed  in 
a  circle  in  the  ground,  bound  together  with  withes 
and  thatched  with  grass.  He  also  states  that  they 
raised  corn  and  other  vegetables,  using  hoes  for  culti 
vating  the  soil,  but  depended  on  the  chase  for  their 
sustenance  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.**  It  is 

*  Harahey,  J.  V.  Brovver,  St.  Paul,  1S99,  p.  72. 

*  Exploration  of  the  Red  River  of  Louisiana  in  the  year  1852,  bv  R.  B.  Marcy, 
p.  77. 


A    VISIT   FROM   THE   SPANIARDS.  73 

quite  probable  that  the  Indians  occupying  this  old  vil 
lage  were  Wichitas  or  perhaps  some  of  their  relatives, 
the  Pawnees.  On  the  basis  of  the  character  of  the 
mounds  and  their  relics  alone,  however,  an  inference  as 
to  their  tribal  relationship  must  be  regarded  as  but 
little  more  than  a  guess.  But  it  is  none  the  less  in 
teresting  to  note  in  this  border  land  of  ancient  nations 
a  mingling  of  northern,  southern,  and  western  features 
of  primitive  industry  and  art. 


A   VISIT   FROM  THE   SPANIARDS? 

The  finding  of  a  piece  of  chain-mail  with  the  other 
relics  makes  it  certain  that  the  village  was  occupied  by 
Indians  at  least  as  late  as  after  America  had  been  dis 
covered  by  the  Europeans.  At  the  Emporia  meeting  of 
the  Kansas  Academy  of  Science  in  1886  the  author 
suggested  that  this  relic  might  have  come  to  the  In 
dians  from  Coronado's  expedition  to  this  region  in  1542 
and  called  attention  to  Col.  Simpson's  study  of  the 
route  which  this  explorer  followed  in  traveling  from 
Tiguex  to  Quivira  showing  that  he  probably  passed 
through  the  central  part  of  the  state  of  Kansas.* 
Several  old  Spanish  documents  relate  the  adventures  of 
Coronado.  They  all  state  that  he  marched  east  from 
the  mountains  in  New  Mexico  and  across  the  plains  for 
more  than  a  month.  Then  selecting  forty  men  he  left 
his  main  army  and  marched  with  these  few  followers 


*  Coronado's  March  in  search  of  the  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola."  by  J.  H.  Simpson. 
Annual  Report,  Smithsonian  Institution,  1869,  pp.  336—340. 


74  A    VISIT    FROM    THE   SPANIARDS. 

first  north,  and  then  northeast  for  another  month  or  a 
little  more.  Here  he  discovered  a  country  called  Qui- 
vira,  and  remained  in  it  for  twenty  five  days,  visiting 
several  villages  and  exploring  the  country  generally, 
possibly  going  as  far  north  as  the  fortieth  degree  of 
north  latitude.  Most  of  the  students  of  the  Spanish 
papers  seem  to  agree  that  Quivira  was  located  in  the 
central  or  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  of  Kansas. 
Simpson  has  mapped  the  probable  route  that  Coronado 
followed  in  going  ou-t  and  in  returning.  On  his  outward 
route  he  is  supposed  to  have  entered  the  present  bor 
ders  of  this  state  somewhere  near  its  southwest  corner 
(Fig.  32).  From  there  he  is  supposed  to  have  pursued 
an  easterly  course  over  the  country  of  the  Cimarron, 
turning  to  the  north  from  a  point  fifty  miles  or  so 
west  of  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Wichita  and 
returning  from  the  northwestern  part  of  the  state  by 
a  more  southerly  route. 

A.  F.  Bandelier,  a  well  known  archaelogist  and  stu 
dent  of  early  Spanish  history  in  the  southwest,  believes 
that  Quivira  is  to  be  sought  in  the  central  part  of  the 
state  of  Kansas  about  a  hundred  miles  north  of  the 
Arkansas,  but  he  thinks  that  Coronado's  route  of 
march  was  for  most  of  the  way  in  the  territory  south 
of  Kansas.* 

More  recently  Mr.  G.  P.  Winship  has  made  an  ex 
haustive  and  critical  study  of  the  Spanish  accounts  of 
Coronado's  Expedition.  *:  This  author  doubts  that 

*  Fray  Juan  de  Padilla,  by  A.  F.  Bandelier,  American  Catholic  Quarterly  Re 
view,  Vol.  XV,  p.  551.  Also  The  Gilded  Man,  New  York,  1893. 

**  The  Coronado  Expedition,  1540—1542,  by  George  Parker  Wiuship,  14th 
Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethn.,  Washington  18l)G,  Part  I,  pp.  3LM)— 613. 


A    VISIT    FROM   THE   SPANIARDS. 


7") 


76  A    VISIT   FROM   THE   SPANIARDS. 

Coronado,  after  leaving  the  main  army,  "went  much 
beyond  the  south  branch  of  Kansas  river,  if  he  ev7en 
reached  that  stream."  Quivira  should  then  have  been 
located  to  the  south  and  perhaps  a  little  east  of  the 
centre  of  the  state  of  Kansas. 

The  latest  contribution  to  the  history  of  this  expedi 
tion  is  made  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Hodge,  *  who  is  inclined  to 
the  opinion  that  Coronado,  after  having  turned  north, 
crossed  the  Arkansas  river  on  its  south  bend  not  far 
from  the  place  where  Dodge  City  now  stands.  Jt  was 
probably  from  this  point  that  he  marched  (according 
to  the  Spanish  chroniclers)  six  days  to  the  northeast, 
following  down  the  right  side  of  the  stream,  and  finding 
the  first  native  village  on  the  Great  Bend.  From  there 
he  continued  to  the  northeast  and  "either  followed 
down  the  Smoky  Hill  or  crossed  that  stream  and  also 
the  Saline.  Solomon,  and  Republican  forks,  reaching 
Kansas  "river  not  far  from  Junction  City."  "After  learn 
ing  what  they  could  about  the  province,  the  Spaniards 
then  ....  retraced  their  steps  for  twro  or  three  days, 
where  they  provided  themselves  with  fruit  and  corn  for 
the  return  journey  ....  This  place  was  probably  but  a 
few  miles  from  the  present  Salina"  (Fig.  32). 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  the  Paint  Creek 
dwelling  site  lies  in  the  region  which  Coronado  visited. 
It  is  recorded  that  during  the  twenty  five  days  he  and 
his  forty  followers  remained  in  Quivira,  he  sent  out 
captains  and  squads  in  various  directions  to  visit  dif 
ferent  villages,  of  which,  he  says,  there  were  not  more 

*   Harahey,  by  J.  V.  Brower,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  1899,  pp.  29—73. 


.  A   VISIT   FROM   THE   SPANIARDS.  77 

than  twenty-five.*  Taking  all  of  this  into  consideration 
it  is  quite  possible  that  the  piece  of  chain-mail  may 
have  been  obtained  by  the  natives  of  these  villages,  in 
barter  or  otherwise,  from  Coronado's  soldiers.  Col. 
Henry  Inman  has  stated  his  positive  opinion  that  it 
came  from  some  soldier  either  of  the  command  of  Ca- 
beca  de  Vaca,  Coronado,  or  of  De  Soto,  f  most  likely 
the  latter.  But  our  best  historians  doubt  that  De 
Soto's  expedition  came  as  far  west  as  Kansas.  J 

The  archaeological  evidence  perhaps  to  some  extent 
supports  the  view  that  it  came  from  Coronado's  expe 
dition.  The  accounts  we  have  of  the  people  which  he 
met  in  Quivira  characterize  in  some  respects  the  resi 
dents  of  the  old  village,  as  we  know  them  from  their 
dwelling  sites  and  from  the  relics  which  these  contain. 
In  the  anonymous  Spanish  document  Relation  de  Suceso 
we  learn  that  the  inhabitants  of  Quivira  lived  in  houses 
built  of  straw.  There  were  several  villages  of  these 
houses.  The  inhabitants  raised  corn  and  made  bread. 
This  bread  was  cooked  in  fires  under  the  ashes.  ||  In 
Jaramillo's  narrative  we  are  told  that  the  straw-houses 
were  round  and  that  "the  straw  of  the  walls  reached 
down  to  the  ground  like  a  wall".  People  who  have 
liA^ed  on  the  Plains  will  realize  that  in  such  a  shelter 
the  prevalent  sandstorms  would  deposit  drifts  of  dust 
and  sand.  In  course  of  time  there  'would  then  be  a 


*  Winship,  op.  cit.,  p.  582. 

f  The  Santa  Fe  Trail,  New  York,  Mac  Millan  &  Co.,  1897. 

?  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  Justin  Winsor,  Vol.  II.,  p.  296 
Also  History  of  United  States,  Geo.  Bancroft,  Vol.  I.,  p.  52. 
i  Winship,  op.  cit.,  p.  578. 


78  A    VISIT   FROM    THE   SPANIARDS. 

mound.  In  Coronado's  own  letter  to  the  king  of  Spain 
he  relates  that  these  people  used  skins  for  clothing,  and 
that  they  wandered  around  and  hunted  the  bison. 
Such  appear  also  to  have  been  the  habits  of  the  In 
dians  who  lived  on  Paint  creek.  But  other  tribes  did 
the  same.  At  the  best  this  evidence  is  not  conclusive. 
The  piece  of  chain-mail  may  have  come  from  some 
other  source.  Future  researches  of  the  historian,  the 
ethnologist,  and  the  archeologist  may  eventually  throw 
more  light  on  this  subject. 


INDEX. 


Page. 
Academy  of  Science.  Kansas  7,  11,  73 

Adams,  F.  G 11 

Agricultural  implements 69 

Animal  bones 16 

Antelope 10 

Arkansas  river 7G 

Armor CO 

Arro wpoints 40 

Arrow-smootheners 53 

Articles  made  of  sandstone 50 

Articles  made  of  chert 31 

Author's  note 7 

Awls 46 

Bancroft,  Geo., 77 

Bandelier,  A.  F., 74 

Beads  of  bone 19 

Bethany  College 7 

Bevel-edged  Spearheads 41 

Big  Blue  river 11 

Bones  and  shells 17 

Bowls 23 

Brower,  Mr.  J.  V 10,  12,  72,  76 

Brynja 67 

Burial  mounds 10 

Cabeea  de  Yaca 77 

Catalogue  of  Prehistoric  Works...     9 

Cat  Unite  pipes  . 57 

Chain-mail 66 

Characteristics  of  village  tribe 68 

Chert 13,  31 

Cimarron  river 74 

Coronado's  march 73,  76 

Cup,  earthenware 23 

Cupped  stones : 56 

Dakota  sandstone 53 

Davenport  Academy  of  Science 68 

De  Soto,  Ferdinand 77 

Disc-shaped  stones 64 

Dodge  City 76 

Drills...  47 


Page. 

Enander,  Dr.  J.  A 67 

Ethnic  relationship 71 

Failyer,  Prof.  G.  H 11 

Flakers 19 

Flint  knives 39 

Forms  of  earthenware 23 

Fusulina  chert 31 

Games,  instruments  for 64 

Gouge-shaped  tool 17 

Gravel  with  chert 31 

Great  Bend 76 

Grindstones 50 

Gypsum  creek 11 

Hairpins 18 

Hand  grindstones 51 

Hand  hammers 49 

Handles,  earthenware 27 

Harahey 10 

Hodge,  Mr.  F.  W., 72,  76 

Hoes,  bone 15 

Hoes,  flint 48 

Holmes,  Prof.  W.  H 30 

Household  utensils 69 

Hven.Mr.  C.  A 66 

Implements  of  chase  and  warfare  69 
Implements  used  in  domestic  work  69 

Inman,  Col.  Henry, 77 

Introductory (. 9 

Inventory  of  Village  relics 69 

Irregular  forms  of  scrapers 34 

Jars 23 

Juan  de  Padilla 74 

Junction  City 76 

Kansas  Academy  of  Science  7,  11,  73 

Kansas  mounds 10 

Kansas  river 11 

Kinds  of  vessels 23 

Knives  of  flint...  ..  39 


80 


INDEX. 


Page. 
Leaf-Hints  and  tomahawks 47 

Mallets 59 

Marcy,  Capt.  R.  B 72 

McGuire,  J.  D., 59 

McPherson  county H 

Measurements  of  mallets  C4 

Measurements  of  metal  es 51 

Metates 50 

Methods  of  chipping  Hint 19 

Methods  of  fastening  handles 27 

Mounds  in  Kansas H 

Nelson,  Prof.  Frank, 8 

Nipple 65 

Notched  bones 1<S,  68 

Objects  relating  to  ornament 69 

Ornamentation  of  earthenware....  28 
Ornamented  vessel 30 

Paint  Creek  mounds 12 

Painted  pottery 28 

Pawnee  Indians 72,  73 

Pipes 57 

Pipestone 59 

Plat  of  dwelling  sites 13 

Ponca  family 72 

Pottery 23 

Problematic  relic ••  65 

Quivira 12,74,  76 

Rflacion  de  Suceso 77 

Republican  river 11 

Rib,  notched 17 

Rilpy  county 11 

Rundstrom,  Dr.  John, 8,  (57 

Salina 76 

Saline  county 11 

Santa  Fe  Trail...  77 


Scrapers 31 

Shells 19 

Simpson,  Col.  J.  H., 73 

Siouan  pipes 59 

Sioux  Indians 63,  71 

Sioux  quartzito 63 

Sites  of  dwellings 10 

Skunk 16 

Smoky  Hill  river 19,  7(> 

Smoky  Hills U 

Spearheads 4  L 

Spoons 19 

Sports  and  go-inns 69 

Starr,  Prof.  Fredrick, 68 

Stone  Mallets 59 

Structure  of  mounds 14 

Swensson,  Dr.  C.  A., 8 

Teeth  of  bison > 18 

Tempering  of  earthenware 30 

Thomas,  Cyrus 9 

Thro  wing-stones 64 

Tomahawks 47,  49 

Tools  of  special  trades 69 

Turkey 16 

Udden  village  site 12 

Unio  shells 19 

Weaning  nipple 65 

Wear  of  scrapers 32 

Welin,  Prof.  J.  1C., 7,  1)0,  63 

Wichita 74 

Wichita  Indians 72,  73 

Wild-cat 16 

Wilson,  Dr  Thomas, 19,  45  56 

Winship,  Mr.  G.  P 74 

Windsor.  Justin, 77 

Wolf 16 

Yellowstone,  hammers  from 63 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


YE  0573 


